Kauai with kids?

We%26#39;re thinking of going to Kauai with our 6 and 10 year old kids. We%26#39;ve been to Oahu and Maui previously without them but want to explore a new island and bring them along this time. Is there enough on Kauai for families to do together? Any suggestions?

Kauai with kids?

Depending on what time of year you%26#39;re thinking of, and where you%26#39;re staying, there is a lot for kids to do. Some of the beach areas like Lydgate Park, Poipu Beach, Kiahuna Beach and Salt Pond are very kid friendly. They%26#39;re well protected from the surf and Lydgate has a huge playground area. If you stay at the Hyatt, they have an amazing pool complex that kids and adults both love.

There are lots of hiking trails that kids can easily do like the Sleeping Giant and some at Waimea canyon.

They may enjoy the museum in Lihue or even the shopping areas in Poipu and the Coconut Marketplace where you can see a free hula show.

Take them on a helicopter tour, kayak up the Wailua River or the Hanalei River, and go to a Luau at Smith%26#39;s.

Lots to do on Kauai, but it is more laid back and less touristy than Oahu or Maui!

Kauai with kids?

My family has been going to Kauai since our children were first born. They are now 14 and 12. When they were small they were thrilled with the beaches and the incredible walks in warm weather or pouring rain. We have gone for three weeks at a time and found a new beach every day to explore. They have done snorkelling and hiking and watched wind sailing. They have made leis and been thrilled at Smith%26#39;s luau. As they got older, they did shopping, and beaches, pools and hot tubs in the rain, wave bashing (standing in the knee high water and letting the big waves wash over you.)They have investigated huge caves and walked through sugar cane fields (maybe even took a little piece of cane to go.) They take flashlights at night to watch the huge toads you can find. They try to catch the small hermit crabs on the beaches (never can) and try to find the geckos asleep in hibiscus. Now they are older and have gotten to kyak up the river, walk through the jungle, swing on ropes into pools of water and visit the bottoms of waterfalls and sit underneath them. They have done Captain Andy%26#39;s day trips and seen turtles and dolphins and whales and flying fish. They have sat on the trampoline tarp while the waves wash up on them and snorkled in the deeper parts of the ocean. There are wonderful parks for kids and really safe ocean places to play (Lydgate)and every one you seem to meet is friendly when you are yourself. Believe Me, your kids will love Kauai.

Thank you!!! I had no idea there is so much to do and will keep all these ideas in mind. We%26#39;re planning on going in June so hopefully this will give us enough time to plan activities. I feel much better now and am excited to do all these fun things and discover Kauai!

kauaikate: I loved what you wrote - the details are wonderful - my daughters were 6 %26amp; 13 when we went to Kauai . . . the 6 yr old figured out how to snorkel before we did! :) My youngest will still pop up w/some memory, like ';remember how every night it would rain while we went to sleep'; and watching the geckos running on some of the ceilings while we ate dinner, and all those little things. They both can%26#39;t wait to go back, and you know, it was the simple things that they enjoyed the most - like laying on the beach watching the sand crabs or seeing the gorgeous Christmas wrasses in the water at Ke%26#39;e beach.

Kwils: been meaning to tell you (as I can%26#39;t remember when I noticed) but love your waterfall photos - really adds to your posts. :)

LLMA: Also, one things we happened to see while we were there . . . didn%26#39;t do lots of shopping, but did happen to hit one of the malls during one of their free hula performances - my girls really enjoyed that. Kauai has much to see and do w/your children in such a wonderful setting. Enjoy making memories! :)

My sister and I took our granddaughters ages 9, 10 and 11 to Kauai this past summer, and had a wonderful time. They took to snorkeling right away at Lydgate and Ke%26#39;e beaches, even though they%26#39;re not proficient swimmers. A NaPali coast boat tour from Hanalei with Captain Sundown was another favorite. They were entranced by the cliffs and waterfalls, and thought the ocean spray and rough water on the return trip was better than any theme park ride. They also enjoyed Waimea Canyon and the spouting horn, and shave ice at the Beach Hut (I think) in Hanapepe. The line at JoJo%26#39;s was too long and we were too hot and tired to wait. We too found that the small things were what they remembered most, and never once did we hear the dreaded words ';I%26#39;m bored';. They%26#39;ve become Kauai lovers like my sister and I are, and are already saving their money for a return trip. They even enjoyed going to the farmer%26#39;s market in Hanalei. We rented a house in Princeville and ate most of our meals in with a couple of splurges. The house had a pool, but we didn%26#39;t spend all that much time there . They did however argue over whose turn it was to skim the pool during the morning rain showers. As the youngest said halfway through the week A. is this the life?B. is this the life? or C. both of the above.

We just returned from a fantastic week in Kauai and a day-and-a-half in Oahu. Our 11 year old (and the older brothers) had an incredible time! In fact, my 11 year old said he%26#39;d rather spend even more time in Kauai and not go back to Oahu in the future!

We stayed down in the Poipu area. The beach areas from Poipu/Brennecke%26#39;s (spelling?) to the Hyatt beachfront area were all fantastic. The kids LOVED the boogie boarding (I did too!) and would have been happy with that and pool-life for many days. The beaches are just soooo nice...and we were there Christmas thru New Year%26#39;s, which is so busy, but never felt crowded on Kauai.

We rented a car the whole time, and went to Waimea Canyon and hiked. We also went to Hanalei and saw big waves, caves, etc. It was a long day, with lots of traffic in teh Kapaa area! (Bring car games or music, etc).The kids said they would have loved even more hiking next time. There%26#39;s been a drought so the waterfalls aren%26#39;t full, but that leaves experiences for a future trip ;)

We went snorkeling. My youngest really liked that. The older boys have gone on Scout-run Sailing trips in the Florida area and they%26#39;ve done a lot of snorkeling, so it wasn%26#39;t as ';innovative'; for them...but still enjoyable.

They absolutely loved the helicopter ride. Due to the expense, my husband and I didn%26#39;t go this time, since we%26#39;ve already done it. But the three boys loved that!

We also did the Captain Andy 5 hour sail-snorkel-lunch trip. I was EXTREMELY disappointed when we got there at 6:30 a.m. and found out that they weren%26#39;t going up the coast...and hadn%26#39;t been going up the coast for at least the past week...I was angry that the concierge who made the reservation didn%26#39;t notify me of that! ESPECIALLY when I heard that the other tour boats (Zodiac, Holo, etc) were still going up north. I was really counting on THAT and the price was high!!! Instead, they took us down to the Poipu and other areas...still a nice trip, but definitely not worth the big bucks, the lengthy day, early morning, etc. I wanted to see Napali Coast, not the resort we were staying at from another angle! BUT, we did get to see whales, spinner dolphins, and some decent snorkeling (not great, though). So, watch out when scheduling stuff.

Also, I would NEVER use a concierge to book things again! They messed-up quite a bit, in my opinion...and they%26#39;ll hear about it officially from me! I%26#39;m sure they get kick-backs for the bookings, but it%26#39;s all at my expense and I resented it tremendously! So, my recommendation would be to use these forums and book on your own!!!

All restaurants were casual and pretty-much kid friendly. IF you stay at a place with a kitchenette, I would recommend stocking up on snacks and breakfast foods. Just eating out for dinners adds up pretty quickly!

Lots of great walking along coast, inland, etc. Beaches were great...plenty of exploring opportunities and gorgeous beaches. Kids enjoyed ';chillin'; too!

We did the Hyatt Luau, since it was so convenient (we were next door in condos). You can try to get 2-for-1 and the price isn%26#39;t outrageous, plus your kids are discounted nicely! It%26#39;s a nice luau because it%26#39;s outdoors and the kids enjoyed most of the show, though it was a little long.

Oh...and a personal favorite for kids was trying out as many Shave Ice places as possible and comparing them all!

Recommendation: Get the snorkeling gear and boogie boards asap! We were told to rent them; we waited til day 2-3, but they were sold out of all snorkel gear (EVERYWHERE!) but that was a really busy week. Rental is cheap enough by the week, that I%26#39;d get it asap even if not planning to use it every day. We just threw the boards in the back so they were always ready to use!

No night life at all on Kauai...which is probably fine for your kids%26#39; ages. My older kids didn%26#39;t quite ';get it!'; ';How can an entire island shut down at 10:00 p.m?'; they wondered. But, once they realized how much better the island life is if you get up before noon, they appreciated it a little more ;)

We absolutely loved the trip and we appreciated the advice from these forums.

Hello everyone! I thought I%26#39;d bump this topic back up to the top.

My family of five is heading to Maui and Kauai next month. Our kids are ages 5, 9, and 11. We are looking for some things to do during our 4 days on Kauai. We%26#39;re staying at the Kauai Marriott Resort and Beach Club. Anyone want to offer up their top list of 3 or 4 activities for kids on Kauai?

My wife and I were last in Kauai on our honeymoon 15 years ago. Our favorite activity was a Zodiac raft snorkeling tour of the Na Pali coast. I would love to do that again, but I%26#39;m not sure if 5 or 6 hours is too long for my youngest. Also, how do you handle the whole bathroom thing in case of an emergency....just snorkle away from the group? Anyone ever do this trip with younger kids?

Thanks!

QT

Qualitytime wrote: Anyone ever do this trip with younger kids?

Quality we have done this with younger (8) not a very pleasant trip and we were not on a zodiac. I would not recommend it. with children that age I would just go snorkeling at Lydgate or Poipu. There is a wonderful Keiki beach at Poipu that the younger ones would love. Little ones love the beach but hate the driving. Especially if they are prone to car sickness. My children also enjoyed the Brick Oven Pizza for dinners. While you are waiting for your pizza to come up the younger ones were always given dough to play with.

Erin

Other good beaches for keiki are Anini (in the mornings and really just for playing in the water, although the 10 year old might be able to go out far enough to snorkel). It stays quite shallow for a distance.

Also Ke`e. Shallow, reef-protected, some snorkeling along the edge of the reef. The kids might get a kick out of Hanalei and all the one-lane bridges.

It depends on when you go, though. Both of these are north shore and may be too rough in winter.

You can probably find kids%26#39; programs; maybe ask at the Historical Society in Lihue. Also, maybe koloagirl will know.

Aloha from Kaua%26#39;i!

I think you%26#39;ve been given some great tips on where to go

beach-wise and do with keiki -- I really couldn%26#39;t add anything except maybe a free keiki hula show? There is one at Seaview Terrace - Grand Hyatt at 7pm on Tuesday and Saturday nights.

The show is Leilani Rivera Bond%26#39;s hula halau -- the younger dancers, ages from 4 to 12 - perform hula, New Zealand poi balls, and Tahitian dance -- there is an ';audience participation'; section also where the dancers pick audience members and teach them how to do the hula -- lots of times the children of these audience members also go up and participate. Someone from Leilani%26#39;s halau also teaches a hula at 5pm on Saturdays usually in the area by the lei cart, just down from the main lobby. Also free.

It is free and altho%26#39; I%26#39;m sure that I%26#39;m biased -- I think it is really a nice show -- and one of the very best ';free'; activities as far as hula goes!

You are not required to buy drinks, but of course -- if you want! And they have lots of ';kid-friendly'; smoothies and soda!

Malama Pono,

Janet